I'm asking You God, to give me what You have left.Give me those things which others never ask of You. I don't ask You for rest, or tranquility.Not that of the spirit, the body, or the mind.I don't ask You for wealth, or success, or even health.All those things are asked of You so much Lord,that you can't have any left to give.Give me instead Lord what You have left.Give me what others don't want.I want uncertainty and doubt.I want torment and battle.And I ask that You give them to me now and forever Lord,so I can be sure to always have them,because I won't always have the strength to ask again.But give me also the courage, the energy,and the spirit to face them.

I ask You these things Lord,because I can't ask them of myself.

On active duty, they call it the “20/20 rule” when they talk about National Guard Soldiers.For those who don’t know, that means “20 years older and 20 pounds heavier.”

Earl Werner however, was not one of those guys.

I came home to read my e-mail at work to find out that we were flying the flag for Sergeant Earl Werner at half staff because he had died from wounds from an IED strike while escorting a convoy in Iraq.

On Friday, Sgt. Earl Werner, 38, from Amboy, Wash., was killed in Rashid, Iraq, when the convoy was struck in a roadside bombing.

Werner was on his third deployment with the National Guard, after serving with the 162nd Infantry in 2004 and with the 234th Engineer Company in 2007. For his service, Werner was awarded the Bronze Star, two Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Action Badge.

He is survived by his wife, Casey, and son, Charles, 19, both of Amboy, in rural Clark County. On Saturday, the family was traveling to Dover, Md., for the arrival of Werner's coffin,…

When I got home from work, I rushed into my spare room where I put my things that go with my uniforms and jerked open the drawer where I put my old leaders book (I haven’t had Joes in awhile working in this staff job) and I ripped it open and began furiously flipping through the pages.

And there, four pages in, clipped into the "personnel" section, was all the essential information a leader could need on one Sergeant (then Specialist) Earl Werner.

Earl you see, at one point, belonged to me.He was mine.

I was suddenly overwhelmed with a massive wave of guilt that I had been on vacation in Florida seeing my in-laws while he was in Iraq. I suddenly felt as if what I was doing at that time really wasn't all that important.

I remember Earl as someone who was dedicated to the premise that if you are going to come to drill and be part of the unit, then you should give your best and strive for excellence, and, as is the case with most guys like Earl, they believe that the best way to do your job is to get out there and do it.

And I am forever grateful that there are men and women who have been willing to give away all of their tomorrows so that that I could be safe and so that we can be free. I have been on the ramp and placed the flag draped stretcher on the bird to send them home to their families and it never gets easier. The feelings from those days is never really too far away.

My prayers go out for strength for his family in this time of unbelievable loss. I am glad to have known him.

I don't know how to thank someone for making the freedom I enjoy possible. All I can do is to do my best to ensure that I am worthy of what you have given for my family....

Thank you Earl and may your eternal soul rest in the peace and tranquility that you so richly deserve....

Comments

Sergeant Earl Werner--Someone You Should Know

I'm asking You God, to give me what You have left.Give me those things which others never ask of You. I don't ask You for rest, or tranquility.Not that of the spirit, the body, or the mind.I don't ask You for wealth, or success, or even health.All those things are asked of You so much Lord,that you can't have any left to give.Give me instead Lord what You have left.Give me what others don't want.I want uncertainty and doubt.I want torment and battle.And I ask that You give them to me now and forever Lord,so I can be sure to always have them,because I won't always have the strength to ask again.But give me also the courage, the energy,and the spirit to face them.

I ask You these things Lord,because I can't ask them of myself.

On active duty, they call it the “20/20 rule” when they talk about National Guard Soldiers.For those who don’t know, that means “20 years older and 20 pounds heavier.”

Earl Werner however, was not one of those guys.

I came home to read my e-mail at work to find out that we were flying the flag for Sergeant Earl Werner at half staff because he had died from wounds from an IED strike while escorting a convoy in Iraq.

On Friday, Sgt. Earl Werner, 38, from Amboy, Wash., was killed in Rashid, Iraq, when the convoy was struck in a roadside bombing.

Werner was on his third deployment with the National Guard, after serving with the 162nd Infantry in 2004 and with the 234th Engineer Company in 2007. For his service, Werner was awarded the Bronze Star, two Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Action Badge.

He is survived by his wife, Casey, and son, Charles, 19, both of Amboy, in rural Clark County. On Saturday, the family was traveling to Dover, Md., for the arrival of Werner's coffin,…

When I got home from work, I rushed into my spare room where I put my things that go with my uniforms and jerked open the drawer where I put my old leaders book (I haven’t had Joes in awhile working in this staff job) and I ripped it open and began furiously flipping through the pages.

And there, four pages in, clipped into the "personnel" section, was all the essential information a leader could need on one Sergeant (then Specialist) Earl Werner.

Earl you see, at one point, belonged to me.He was mine.

I was suddenly overwhelmed with a massive wave of guilt that I had been on vacation in Florida seeing my in-laws while he was in Iraq. I suddenly felt as if what I was doing at that time really wasn't all that important.

I remember Earl as someone who was dedicated to the premise that if you are going to come to drill and be part of the unit, then you should give your best and strive for excellence, and, as is the case with most guys like Earl, they believe that the best way to do your job is to get out there and do it.

And I am forever grateful that there are men and women who have been willing to give away all of their tomorrows so that that I could be safe and so that we can be free. I have been on the ramp and placed the flag draped stretcher on the bird to send them home to their families and it never gets easier. The feelings from those days is never really too far away.

My prayers go out for strength for his family in this time of unbelievable loss. I am glad to have known him.

I don't know how to thank someone for making the freedom I enjoy possible. All I can do is to do my best to ensure that I am worthy of what you have given for my family....

Thank you Earl and may your eternal soul rest in the peace and tranquility that you so richly deserve....

Search

The Authors

Former Paratrooper and Army Officer, "Blackfive" started this blog upon learning of the valorous sacrifice of a friend that was not reported by the journalist whose life he saved. Email: blackfive AT gmail DOT com

Instapinch
Bill Paisley, otherwise known as Pinch, is a 22 year (ongoing) active and
reserve naval aviator. He blogs over at www.instapinch.com on a veritable
cornucopia of various and sundry items and will bring a tactical naval
aviator's perspective to Blackfive. Readers be warned: any comments of or
about the F-14 Tomcat will be reverential and spoken in low, hushed tones.
Email: wpaisley AT comcast DOT net

Mr. Wolf has over 26 years in the Army, Army NG, and USAR. He’s Airborne with 5 years as an NCO, before becoming an officer. Mr. Wolf has had 4 company commands. Signal Corp is his basic branch, and Public Affairs is his functional area. He recently served 22 straight months in Kuwait and Iraq, in Intel, PA, and senior staff of MNF-I. Mr. Wolf is now an IT executive. He is currently working on a book on media and the Iraq war. Functional gearhead.

In Iraq, he received the moniker of Mr. Wolf after the Harvey Kietel character in Pulp Fiction, when "challenges" arose, they called on Mr. Wolf...
Email: TheDOTMrDOTWolfAT gmail DOT com

Deebow is a Staff Sergeant and a Military Police Squad Leader in the Army National Guard. In a previous life, he served in the US Navy. He has over 19 years of experience in both the Maritime and Land Warfare; including deployments to Southwest Asia, Thailand, the South Pacific, South America and Egypt. He has served as a Military Police Team Leader and Protective Services Team Leader and he has served on assignments with the US State Department, US Air Force Security Police, US Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. He recently spent time in Afghanistan working with, training and fighting alongside Afghan Soldiers and is now focused on putting his 4 year Political Science degree to work by writing about foreign policy, military security policy and politics.

McQ has 28 years active and reserve service. Retired. Infantry officer. Airborne and Ranger. Consider my 3 years with the 82nd as the most fun I ever had with my clothes on. Interests include military issues and policy and veteran's affairs.
Email: mcq51 -at - bellsouth -dot- net

Tantor is a former USAF navigator/weapon system officer (WSO) in F-4E Phantoms who served in the US, Asia, and Europe. He is now a curmudgeonly computer geek in Washington, DC, picking the taxpayers pocket. His avocations are current events, aviation, history, and conservative politics.

Twenty-three years of Active and Reserve service in the US Army in SF (18B), Infantry and SOF Signal jobs with operational deployments to Bosnia and Africa. Since retiring he's worked as Senior Defense Analyst on SOF and Irregular Warfare projects and currently ensconced in the emerging world of Cyberspace.

The Authors Emeritus

Major Pain --
A Marine who began his blog in Iraq and reflects back on what he learned there and in Afghanistan. To the point opinions, ideas and thoughts on military, political and the media from One Marine’s View.Email: onemarinesview AT yahoo DOT com

Uber Pig was an Infantryman from late 1991 until early 1996, serving with Second Ranger Battalion, I Corps, and then 25th Infantry Division. At the time, the Army discriminated against enlisted soldiers who wanted use the "Green to Gold" program to become officers, so he left to attend Stanford University. There, he became expert in detecting, avoiding, and surviving L-shaped ambushes, before dropping out to be as entrepreneurial as he could be. He is now the founder of a software startup serving the insurance and construction industries, and splits time between Lake Tahoe, Boonville, and San Francisco, CA.

Uber Pig writes for Blackfive a) because he's the proud brother of an enlisted Civil Affairs Reservist who currently serves in Iraq, b) because he looks unkindly on people who make it harder for the military in general, and for his brother in particular, to succeed at their missions and come home in victory, and c) because the Blackfive readers and commenters help keep him sane.

COB6 spent 24 years in the active duty Army that included 5 combat tours with service in the 1st Ranger Battalion and 1st Special Forces Group . COB6 was enlisted (E-7) and took the OCS route to a commission. COB6 retired a few years back as a field grade Infantry officer.
Currently COB6 has a son in the 82nd Airborne that just returned from his third tour and has a newly commissioned daughter in the 4th Infantry Division.